Fezile Msumba, the Representative Council of Learners (RCL) president of Forest High School, takes leadership to heart.

He believes being a leader isn’t just a title – it’s a calling that demands dedication, passion, and a willingness to serve.

With his infectious energy and commitment to making a difference, Fezile’s all about empowering his peers and creating a positive vibe at Forest High.

He has shown headship in many instances since he came to school in 2024. After being elected as the RCL president of the school last year, he was also selected as the president of Johannesburg Central District and the deputy president of the province.

This year, he has been re-elected to two portfolios: RCL president of the school and the District.

Looking back at his achievements at the helm of these portfolios, Fezile said he was the junior delegate for SaudiArabia in the recent G20 Summit held in Nasrec.

“It was the first time being on a national structure. Although it was nerve-wracking, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Meeting 90 delegates and having the pressure as a host city to make sure Gauteng works. The experience was fun yet educational,” he said.

Fezile also participated in the first National Dialogue; he said they were the only delegates from schools, along with Sandra Leshabela from Limpopo. Then came the Provincial Wide Survey, where he spearheaded it by gathering schools’ information on leadership, problems, and solutions.

School campaigns

One of his campaigns is ‘My Freedom My Choice’, which included posters and videos promoting the Freedom Charter and educating learners about freedom in general.

“We organised a Spelling Bee competition where we invited our sister school, Kenilworth High and Mapetla High, which is in our district, to participate. Anti-bullying was also another campaign we did, where we conscientise learners about bullying and its implications, especially in the school environment,” he said.

His great disappointment came last year when he didn’t make it to the top five with the renowned explorer Riaan Manser, who was going to embark on a journey of a lifetime to explore the most environmentally isolated and unique continent on earth, Antarctica.

“I was in the top 10, but I missed the final cut. It was painful as I’m also passionate about the environment. Although some of our communities don’t care about it, I am an ambassador for climate change and global warming,” noted Fezile.

This year Fezile is still at the top

In 2026, Fezile remained the president of the school and district, although he wasn’t re-elected provincially, he is still a member of the Provincial Youth Parliament.

“As I’m in Grade 12, I’m focusing on training my successor. I want continuity. My executive consists of five girls, and I’m rooting for them to do great things. “You often work well with girls. Nowadays, boys don’t want to participate; girls are taking over, and that’s great because I’m advocating for them. I must say, they helped me out with a lot of things. As a passionate leader, this is my calling and my biggest strength is my voice.
“I help people. When there are issues, I’m called to oversee them. I go home smiling every day because I help people,” he said.

Fezile confirmed that this year they are pushing for more dialogues. “We are in contact with most of the schools in our district. We want to touch on topics that no one is talking about, those controversial ones.

“Another thorny issue is funding. It is still a problem, and we are trying every means to mitigate the burden it causes. That is why we are running campaigns like Back-a-Buddy; we want to increase our social media footprint so people know more about us. We are committed to educating more learners, visiting more schools, especially underperforming ones and visiting orphanages,” he said.

About Litha’s passing

Fezile said the recent incident that involved the brutal attack and subsequent passing of Grade Eight learner, Litha Duba, shocked the school. “This is unusual. I came here because this is a great school. What happened to Litha is unfortunate and we are saddened as a school.

“As a product of this school, we want to do everything in our power to safeguard it and its learners. Thank you to the police who helped us in times of need. We also don’t know how it came about. We are scared; however, we will do everything we can to protect ourselves. My sincerest condolences to the family,” he concluded.